[NAGDU] Question for GDA grads, Dogs and canes and curbs

L Gwizdak leg1950 at cox.net
Thu Mar 10 20:49:04 UTC 2016


Hi Lisa,
Sounds like you need to get a grooup together and get your city to instal a 
tactile strip on those kind of intersection.  And before someone is killed. 
Go to your city council armed with pix of the offending intersections and 
exactly what streets they are on.  HTH.

Lyn and Oliver
"Asking who's the man and who's the woman in an LGBT relationship is like 
asking which chopstick is the fork" - Unknown
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lisa Belville via NAGDU" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: "national guide dog" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Lisa Belville" <missktlab1217 at frontier.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2016 9:57 AM
Subject: [NAGDU] Question for GDA grads, Dogs and canes and curbs


> Hi, all.
>
> I've been unexpectedly off line for a bit, so I'm just going through the
> NAGDU archives and noticed the thread about dogs going into the street
> instead of turning onto a sidewalk. I don't remember who the original 
> poster was, but I'd encourage you to call your school and get some on 
> sight help so they can see exactly what's happening in real time and give 
> you tips as things are happening.  Even videos and phone calls aren't a 
> substitute for that kind of assistance.  I know it's scary/frustrating and 
> depressing to have a dog and have this happen, so that's why I'm urging 
> the school contact.
>
> I've had this issue in varying degrees with all of my dogs, but it has 
> been way worse with my second and current dog because over the past few 
> years the city has
> been changing most of their old school curb cuts to this blended and 
> rounded
> style.  The curbs that aren't blended are still rounded, but there's 
> plenty
> of slope or rough concrete, so it's a bit easier to distinguish these even
> if there's not traffic noise.
>
> A dog can learn to navigate these, but it's really frustrating to have to
> direct the dog accurately especially if you can't give very specific
> directions due to not having reliable tactile feedback from the
> concrete/asphalt.  I try to use traffic sounds to pinpoint when we're
> actually at the curb rather than using what I feel through my feet.    We
> have a few curbs here that are all concrete and even using my long cane in
> an arc doesn't really help me find the curb unless I have some traffic
> sounds.  It's really frustrating
>
> We had a  situation recently where we crossed one of these rounded
> intersections and rather than  continue straight along the sidewalk, we
> wound up in the parallel street.  This is a farily busy street for us, but
> there's parking and bike lanes on the west side of the street, so even 
> though we
> were technically in the street, we weren't in traffic.  I figured this out
> and told Paige to move over to the right and we treated it like a country
> walk until she could find the first open right turn and get us back on the
> sidewalk.  I don't consider this good guiding behavior, but at the same 
> time
> we did recover successfully without injury or stress, Well, Paige didn't
> seem stressed.  I, on the other hand, was a basketcase.  LOL
>
> Part of the problem here is that this is a mismatched intersection in that
> the curb we came from is very sloped and obvious while the one we were
> crossing to is extremely flat and blended, so there's really nothing for
> me to feel.
>
> I've been in touch with GDA where I got Paige and they've given us ideas,
> mostly involving someone sighted helping us to pattern Paige to these 
> areas.
> They said she's looking for a change in elevation more than anything else
> when finding curbs, and that's hard for those flat curbs and we have tons 
> of
> those.  I'm lucky in that the person helping me is my original O&M teacher 
> I
> had back in third grade.  Seriously, I've known this person for that long.
> She's open to learning how dogs work and is actually going to a workshop
> later this year sponsored by a guide dog school, sorry, don't remember 
> which
> one.  Just saying that while I'm not getting on sight help from the school
> yet, finding the right person really does make a difference.
>
> The other recommendation is to use my cane in these areas so I know them
> well enough to direct Paige accurately.  I have mixed feelings about this.
> I don't mind the cane, but I have a horrible left veer, which is why when 
> I have to use a cane, I use a long
> cane.  This isn't an NFB style cane, but I'm using the NFB recommendation 
> that the
> cane come up to at least my nose.  I'm five foot one, and this cane comes 
> up to just past that point.  This really does help with veering and 
> recovering
> from it, especially at street crossings.
>
> Now when I leave with Paige, I've got my Trekker Breeze, my cane folded in 
> my right hand and my iPhone with the compass app running and calibrated. 
> I have had to use all of these to get us out of travel jams.    I'd use 
> the iPhone for GPS, but I have a lousy data plan, so it's not an option at 
> this point.
>
> The advice I'm getting from GDA is to leave Paige at home and use my cane 
> in unfamiliar areas until I know how things feel so I can give Paige 
> accurate directions.  Guys, this frankly sounds unrealistic.  Sure, a cane 
> is a valuable tool to have in the tool box, and I have no problems using 
> it if we become disoriented for some reason.  But using it instead of the 
> dog in unfamiliar areas seems like it defeats the purpose of the dog. 
> What about unplanned trips or or having one of those days where it's 
> really nice out and I think  "Hey, let's check out what's down that 
> street."
>
> I'm not bashing or saying anything negative about GDA or the staff, yada, 
> yada.  I'm only asking other grads how they handle their dogs in areas 
> where there aren't textbook curbs.
> Any and all input is welcome.
>
> Lisa
>
>
> missktlab1217 at frontier.com
>
> In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth... After that,
> everything else was Made in China.
>
>
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